rclere That's Gold.

Hey Lee Vatip, Greg. The orchestra of strings is definitely my favourite approach to take. I've learnt so much already about the range and tonal possibility of Stick, through reflecting different orchestral arrangements. I'm currently working up a cover of Game of Thrones. I'll have to post that pretty soon, sorry I always seem to be pulling punches here. It's more that through orchestral discoveries I think I punch above my weight, but that's always a positive thing.

One thing that I've begun to appreciate is that actually knowing the theory behind any intended independence is actually more of a help than a hinderance. It's good to make a start through playing shapes, I'm just getting a little tired of "flying blind" and it's beginning to get better.

Still working on one or two songs at a time and in their fullness, seem to help instead of having a grab bag of too many things. This is slowly getting better for me.

Q. What's brown and Sticky?

A. A Stick

I find a smart phone/tablet with a good MP3 recording app along with the ASD app (amazing slow downer) is incredibly handy for the woodshedding process. And I keep these tools at hand at all times while exploring this beautiful monster because it's so easy to completely forget the cool groove I came up with just a few hours ago.

BTW my rig is a Samsung Galaxy Note III "phablet" with the free version of Hi-Q MP3 and the paid version of ASD.

...

Compass bass?
Bring your GPS for better results.


GPS.....Grand (Performance) Stick

What about a sextant?

We all approach the instrument in different ways. Much depending on if you´ve played another instrument before turning to the Stick. I am a bass player from start and I´m often stuck in a band situation where people see me as a bass-player. Especially guitar players has tended to be rather aggressive if I´ve involved the melody strings of the Stick in my playing. They often give me the evil eye and say: "Stay away! That´s MY frequencies and you are trespassing"! That has limited my use of the melody strings. I´ve played with more open minded guitar players too of course. "Cool stuff! Let´s work something out together that sounds good". I like THAT approach much more. But that has not been the situation all the time. So I´ve been stuck playing bass parts often and the reason might be that people see me as a bass player and it does not matter if I play another instrument it seems. Would probably get the same reaction if I sat down behind a piano. I have a friend that is a sax player and he picked up the Stick some 8 or 9 years ago. He can play any high notes he wants since people tend to see him as a melody/solo guy. But he once told me that a bass player got mad when he started to play low notes....!

One of the bands I´m in is a trio without a guitar player. Bass, piano and drums. LOTS of freedom there and I can do pretty much whatever I want. I play more Stick than ever now and they challenge me so I need to practice. Both bass and melody playing. Love it. Need to work on independence between the hands. Always. But I have more fun than ever. And after having played this damned instrument for some 27 years I am working on writing and recording solo stuff on the Stick. Have not found the time to do that up till now. But it´s about time.... But it´s been good fun and I´ve played Stick on some albums that has been nominated for a swedish Grammy through the years. Rather certain tho that 99 % of the listeners has not been aware that there is a strange instrument called the Stick in there in the mix. They probably think that it´s a bass. But I don´t care. It´s been fun. But it´s interesting..... If you´re a bass player playing Stick most people wants you to stick to the low notes. And if you´re a piano player playing Stick then you are free to play piano stuff. Or if you are a sax player, then you can play high notes and do solos and stuff. But stay away from the low notes! We bass players don´t like you if you trespass!

//J

Exactly. There are numerous possibilities of frequency and orchestration. The player has an open canvas to explore based on situation and ability.
I advocate being as prepared as possible to get desired results. The Stick is your means of expression. The best vocabulary based on knowledge, technique and ear will get the job done with the best creative results. The Stick player can easily be captain of the ship, be it solo, small group or orchestra.
YMMV
Steve Adelson

...

Jan, I too have been playing for 27 years, with a few years off to attend to piano, family, full-time work, and such. Probably a good thing, as I'd likely have given myself a case of tendonitis from poor setup and poor technique.

Despite that span of years I feel as if I've just begun. I have a good understanding of harmony and rhythm, and I've recently spent 18 months rebooting my technique, but it's a wide-open vista, and I'm a little settler on a big frontier. No cause for big ego here!

I want to get good at the blues, and that's the sum of my current ambition, and when I attain this goal, if ever, I'll be able to sight-read any chart with single-line bass and three- or four-note chord symbols. I'm watching Jeff Berlin videos, and also Emily Remler videos. Check 'em out!

R

A loooong time ago when I played geeeetar I did some duets with Emily. Great player and sweet person
As a Stick player I've done trio jams with Jeff Berlin and Danny Gottlieb at NAMM.
Incredible players all.
It's a great growing experience to learn from or play with giants.
Keep it going
Steve A

I'm considering the subject of this thread, and still not sure how independence could ever be a "curse"...

There have been many musical contexts where I concentrated on two-handed bass parts as my main mission, but nothing quite feels like really nailing a solo in one hand while you groove away in the other...

Hand movement helps a lot with hand independence, so free those hands!